Author: Jesse Andrews
Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.
Review: The book is "written by" the main character, as what seems to be a college entrance essay. Greg is supposed to be a high school senior, but he seems much more like an eighth grader, except for all the cussing and slightly more adult themes. Also, he continually says things like "This is a horrible book" or "I don't know why you're reading this barf-fest" and sometimes "You should just stop reading this book." I think it's supposed to be funny, but I'm not really sure because all it made me do was want to stop reading the book. I did finish it, though. I was ready to read a humorous yet heartwarming story. This did not happen. The first twenty pages when we were being given the lowdown on the life of Greg Gaines were hilarious, and there were a few funny instances after that, but not many. Greg is a jerk for the entire book, only caring about himself and now his invisibility is ruined because he had to eat lunch with some dying girl and his life is all messed up because Rachel had the audacity to get a cancer and need a friend. It's not until the last fifteen pages or so that he begins to actually care. If you ignore all of Greg's commentary, you might end up liking this book.
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